


Walking to School

by Small_Hobbit



Series: The Unexpected Family [7]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-29
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-12-27 23:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/984723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Greg Lestrade reflects on his and Sherlock's daughter Lucy's first year at school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walking to School

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for notluvulongtime

The year when Lucy was at school and William was still at nursery was an interesting one for Greg for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it was fun watching how his husband coped with the occasions when Sherlock had to pick both children up in the afternoon.  The difference between their finishing times meant that he could collect William and then the two of them would walk on to Lucy’s school and be ready for when she bounced out to join them.  Of course there were times when Sherlock arrived for Lucy without her brother.  Sometimes this was because he had gone to play with a friend.  Other times it wasn’t.

Lucy quickly learnt to tell what the brief pause after her question of “Where’s William?” meant.  A slight intake of breathe said “Oops, I’ve forgotten him”, whereas a brief hum meant “He’s gone home with someone, but I’ve temporarily forgotten whom.”  Fortunately William’s teacher had grown quite used to being left with a Holmes-Lestrade at the end of the day, having had Lucy the previous year, and would wait patiently for Lucy and Sherlock to appear if William was with her or, when her phone rang indicating Holmes as the caller, she wouldn’t bother with the customary greetings and say “He’s gone with A” as soon as she answered it.

Secondly, it meant that Lucy was invited to ‘girls only’ birthday parties.  Previously, party invitations had generally been for both children, although occasionally where only a few children were invited for ‘birthday tea’ only one would go.  Even then the special friends could be of either sex, so when the first couple of invitations arrived for ‘girls only’ parties, everyone was surprised.

The explanation that ‘boys are so rough’ or ‘boys are too loud’ had Greg and Sherlock looking from Lucy to William in some confusion.  Nevertheless they went along with the idea and Greg ensured that Lucy had a suitable present to take with her, following enquiries around the Yard for suggestions.  However, when, on being collected from the second party, Lucy announced loudly “We didn’t _do_ anything and _everything_ was pink” Greg determined that in future Lucy would only go to the parties she really wanted to go to.  Which was probably as well, because when she reached home she turned to Sherlock and announced “Why did Isabella’s daddy have women’s soap hidden in his wash bag that was different from the type on the basin?”

Thirdly, was the day the class hamster came for the weekend.  Sherlock and William had arrived at Lucy’s school to be greeted with her saying “It’s all ready” and her teacher handing over the hamster in its cage and wishing them a good weekend.  Sherlock would just about have been able to resist the smile that Lucy gave him, but he could not spoil the expression of joy on the face of his small son.

They had to admire Lucy’s ingenuity when they found out how it had happened.  Pippa, who had been due to take the hamster home, was ill and so the teacher had asked if anyone else would like the hamster for the weekend. 

Lucy had said that she would ask her father and accordingly on the way home on Thursday evening she said, “Papa, can I bring the class hamster home this weekend?”

“No,” Sherlock replied.  “It wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Okay.”  And no more was said.

The following morning, when Greg took Lucy to school her teacher asked “Is everything okay for the weekend?”

Greg, being preoccupied with the complicated arrangements for the Saturday that involved both Mycroft and John Watson, had answered “Yes”.

The end result being that Lucy could truthfully say that she had asked her father and her father had said “yes”.

But what Greg really liked that first year Lucy was at school was taking her in the mornings.  The school had a breakfast club, where busy parents could drop their children off early.  It suited Greg, because he could take Lucy on the way to work and she was quite happy.  They would walk to the school, Lucy holding Greg’s hand and chatting away about anything that caught her fancy.  Greg would listen and ask the occasional question and enjoy the fifteen minutes with his daughter.  Even when his shift was different he would take her to school as often as he could, never wanting to miss the opportunity of spending the time with her.

Greg was worried that once William started at the school he would lose this opportunity to spend time with his daughter, but Lucy insisted that he continue to take her so she could go to breakfast club, whilst William, who had become accustomed to having Sherlock to himself in the mornings, had no wish to go early and therefore demanded that Papa take him.  So the walk to school, begun when Lucy was nearly 5, became a permanent event for many years.

 


End file.
